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Saving Rafael
There was a vehicle pulling up outside. I heard the booted feet running up the stairs, then the hammering on the apartment door and the shouting 'Open up! Gestapo!'
You're fifteen years old. You're in love. Only this is Nazi-ruled Berlin and he's a Jew, so it's against the law to love him. There are spies everywhere. And they're taking the last Jews away from Berlin. To the gas chambers...
A compelling novel for older children about love and courage in the face of danger, from acclaimed author Leslie Wilson.
You're fifteen years old. You're in love. Only this is Nazi-ruled Berlin and he's a Jew, so it's against the law to love him. There are spies everywhere. And they're taking the last Jews away from Berlin. To the gas chambers...
A compelling novel for older children about love and courage in the face of danger, from acclaimed author Leslie Wilson.
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First published May 7, 2009
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Leslie Wilson
117 books11 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 17, 2016
Written simply as if spoken by the German main character Jenny, living through the Holocaust in Berlin with brave Germans hiding Jews from the Nazis. A love story between Jenny and her next door Jewish neighbour Rafael who she's loved since childhood. Muffi their Puli dog should have been a cat who had nine lives and could have been shot a couple of times. Jenny's time in a concentration camp would have been horrific. I'm not sure whether this book has been marketed towards young people or not but if it has then it would be a really good history lesson. I really could not put it down. It would make a great movie.
June 19, 2018
Truly amazing book. Never wanted to stop reading it and kinda got depressed knowing the end was soon. Would loved to find out more tho. The mum and how they did at the end. But I am passing this book to my loved ones. Be great for a second one 😉
February 24, 2022
My first historical war fiction book and I loved it very much 😍😍😍😍. Will always have a place in my heart
October 11, 2011
The first time I picked this up I couldn't get into it - there was just something about the writing that wasn't gripping enough. And then I saw that the author had also written the dreadful Last Train from Kummersdorf so I figured this one was a write-off.
Then, a couple of days ago I was in a hurry to go to work and had to really quickly grab a book - and this was the closest. And it turned out that, given a chance, it's not actually all that bad. In fact, in some places it's very good! Although it does feel a bit long at times - which in a way works because it means we get to know the characters very well, but there sometimes just seems to be too much that isn't action. Although for showing what everyday life was like in 1940s Berlin, it's interesting.
I guess my main problem was that while I was interested in the story, I just wasn't that interested in Rafael as a person/partner for Jenny. He seemed a bit bland and while I did like Jenny, she felt too young. I was glad when he finally left, thinking that now she and her mother would be safe... hah! I'm horrified that such a thing could have ever really happened, but I suppose it must have? People being thrown into prison camps on nothing more than suspicions, even when their apartments were torn apart and nothing was found? I would have liked to have read about a bomb dropping right on Frau Mingers' head after that. Evil old broomstick!
The ending also felt very unsatisfying. The part with Brenner was too obvious am 11th-hour stunt (I knew the dog would give them away!), and I don't like that we then don't know if Jenny's mother recovered, or what happened to Rafael's mother, or when Jenny's father was able to return home, or anything! Also, the whole thing of Jenny and Raf going to Sweden together just seemed a bit too trite - it was like the author was writing to a formula by this stage, making sure that all the boxes were ticked. Oh well, at least it turned out to be a decent enough read!
Then, a couple of days ago I was in a hurry to go to work and had to really quickly grab a book - and this was the closest. And it turned out that, given a chance, it's not actually all that bad. In fact, in some places it's very good! Although it does feel a bit long at times - which in a way works because it means we get to know the characters very well, but there sometimes just seems to be too much that isn't action. Although for showing what everyday life was like in 1940s Berlin, it's interesting.
I guess my main problem was that while I was interested in the story, I just wasn't that interested in Rafael as a person/partner for Jenny. He seemed a bit bland and while I did like Jenny, she felt too young. I was glad when he finally left, thinking that now she and her mother would be safe... hah! I'm horrified that such a thing could have ever really happened, but I suppose it must have? People being thrown into prison camps on nothing more than suspicions, even when their apartments were torn apart and nothing was found? I would have liked to have read about a bomb dropping right on Frau Mingers' head after that. Evil old broomstick!
The ending also felt very unsatisfying. The part with Brenner was too obvious am 11th-hour stunt (I knew the dog would give them away!), and I don't like that we then don't know if Jenny's mother recovered, or what happened to Rafael's mother, or when Jenny's father was able to return home, or anything! Also, the whole thing of Jenny and Raf going to Sweden together just seemed a bit too trite - it was like the author was writing to a formula by this stage, making sure that all the boxes were ticked. Oh well, at least it turned out to be a decent enough read!
December 1, 2018
So I read this book in middle school and I always remembered this story and I wanted to read it again. I'm so happy I did. I remember why I loved it so much. It was so real and raw. The things these young people had to face were horrific and it didn't shy away from the horror of the war and everything going on. I think that it was perfect that Jenny went to this concentration camp herself. We got to see that side of everything even though she wasn't there for long. This was definitely a romance. I loved the whole childhood best friend thing, to falling in love, seeing each other in secret, and then saving each others lives. I just didn't like how Raf reacted when Jenny saved him and helped hide him. I get he was in a horrible situation but he was so ungrateful. He didn't act like he loved her. He didn't even console her when she cried. His reason didn't make sense. He said it was because he thought he didn't deserve her but how did he come to that conclusion? What changed in that respect? But when they were good again I loved that. It sounded so nice living with each other, having sex, and kind of living in their own world. But then everything kept going wrong and they had to hide him somewhere else and then they got in trouble. I thought it was interesting how the police interrogated them and stuff. I also liked how the Nazi uncle played in this. He wasn't ratting them out in case they lost the war and they could help him. I wonder if that was a real thing that would happen back in that time. I liked that he helped them. The ending was good but it seemed a little dramatic Jenny killed the Nazi guy that was the reason she went in the concentration camp. But I'm happy she and Raf were together even though she was separated from her family. It was a good open ending where it's not clean and we don't know what will happen. Anyway I loved the story and I know I will always treasure it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2010
Despite groaning somewhat at having to read this book - I found it a fairly straightforward (if that is at all the correct term) examination of the confusion & confliced emotions of any teenager in a forbidden love scenario. Add to this the wider issues of sympathetic, yet fearful, bystanders and the risks undertaken by those brave enough to support Jews in Nazi Germany.
Occasionally contrived in its use of swearing and explicit sexual description, the story has good pace, and once I had established the characters properly, had me gripped. The beginning of the book was cleverly constructed to have me expecting the worst to happen throughout the book - it was just a matter of when and how. (This added to the sympathy I had with Jenny, who must have dealt with that emotion herself!)
Although I am not the target market for this text, I did get something from reading it- although I'm not too sure that "enjoy" would be the right word.
Occasionally contrived in its use of swearing and explicit sexual description, the story has good pace, and once I had established the characters properly, had me gripped. The beginning of the book was cleverly constructed to have me expecting the worst to happen throughout the book - it was just a matter of when and how. (This added to the sympathy I had with Jenny, who must have dealt with that emotion herself!)
Although I am not the target market for this text, I did get something from reading it- although I'm not too sure that "enjoy" would be the right word.
June 27, 2010
The writing protion of this book was alright. I don't know the use of the hyphens, but okay. This book was about two families. A Jewish family and a German family. They were very close, almost like family. When Hitler came to power, and they knew the SS and Gestapo's find Jews and put them into camps, but if the Jakoby were found, they were to be gassed. The German family will help keep the Jewish family alive. During the war, there was a love tension between Jenny(German) and Raf(Jewish). And they couldn't be seen to anyone, before they both were in danger.Just read the book. Its a very long sypnosis, lol.
March 3, 2022
This is my 30th holocaust book, this is another young adult book. I always loved a romance story. This is a teenager love story between Jenny, German girl, 15 years old and Rafael, Jewish boy. They live next door. They are in love with each other. Jenny has risked her life to protect him from the Nazis. I enjoyed the writing style because it is very easy to understand and connects the story as a result. I personally think this book should be taught in school to give a history lesson or convey into movie. It should also educate anyone to like someone else for who they are, not based on their religion. I know this is happens to anyone today in the world.
March 9, 2011
Really good! a very interesting, personal take on WW2 era Germany. It was really interesting from a young womans perspective, as it highlighted sexual elements of the Nazi campaign that had never occured to me. Although the plot was a little predictable, it really put you in the position of the main character- I really felt the terror of WW2 Germany on a truly personal level. It was also a really beautiful love story, which is hard to achieve in a book about such cruelty, but the author pulled it off. Would recommend it, especially to teenage girl! :)
February 3, 2011
With the vast amount of books available on World War II in Germany, this title is low on the ones that you would want to read. It's a touching love story set amidst the early-to-late days of Hitler's reign, however the author includes so much tedious detail about the characters' day-to-day living that the plot gets bogged down. Readers who devour historical fiction from this time period might want to read it, but it's a slow read for others.
October 25, 2011
This is one of my favorite genres: WWII and the Holocaust. I absolutely loved this book. It had me captured from the very beginning and I couldn't put it down. It was a quick, easy read. I read it in just a couple hours. Great love story! I'd love to see it made into a movie.
October 1, 2012
This is a amazing story about the two people whose love for each other grows despite the many things that threaten to tear them apart; set in Germany dring the Second World War. Definately worth reading.
May 24, 2010
a nice love story..
December 26, 2010
I rated this novel '2' because I have read a lot of true stories based on world war 2 and the jewish people and I knew this was a fictional story.
decided-not-to-read
January 28, 2011I forget what made me curious about this, despite the lukewarm reviews. But I don't feel like reading something that takes place in such a depressing time period right now.
June 8, 2012
A fast-paced book which combines the persecution of Jews with a teenage romance. An excellent book for a YA/Teen audience, and I enjoyed it too.
March 10, 2014
A slow start but good overall, I own a signed copy :)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews